Six steps to achieve real behaviour change at work
Changing our behaviour is hard, even when we know what we want to change about ourselves. We have to recognise that desire to change is often not enough. That’s because the emotional centres of our brain learn from ‘doing’, not just ‘knowing’ what we want to change. And if we don’t practice behaviour change constantly, […]
Why you need to stop focusing on efficiency
Working longer, harder and faster doesn’t always lead to bigger and better. Peak productivity isn’t a simple, linear formula whereby if we put more in we’ll get more out. The reality is, it’s more of a bell curve. If we keep using the same strategies to get more stuff done, if we keep pushing harder, […]
Team types – which one are you?
Six years ago my colleague Lois Burton and I identified five different team types – this was not an academic exercise – (goodness knows, there’s enough theory about teams out there to last a lifetime) – but one based on our experience of working with numerous leadership teams across all sectors over a ten year […]
The six habits that help teams win
In my last article I outlined the five steps to building a winning team. There are some meaty things to do and it’s not a quick fix. But if you focus relentlessly on those five things you’ll see significant progress and a stronger, more successful team will emerge. In this article I want to focus on six […]
The reality of performance: no team is an island
In my last three articles, I’ve spoken about the things a team needs to focus on to become a winning team – with the main emphasis being on the team itself and its members. It’s fair to say that some people object to the term ‘winning’ to describe a business team because the implication is […]
What to do about team conflict
There’s conflict and there’s conflict – the productive conflict that energises us when we’re grappling with complex tasks together (we often see that in winning teams) – and the non-productive, energy-draining conflict which is something different entirely. The latter causes people to dread Monday mornings; to loathe team meetings and to focus on survival (which […]
Change is Emotional
People sometimes question why we use so much story in our training materials, and why we put so much emphasis on emotionally engaging learners, rather than simply delivering facts and figures, in what some consider a more ‘academic’ way, with supporting PowerPoint. Well there’s a simple answer to this. We’re not interested in delivering information; […]
Risk is a state of mind
Leading an organisation can sometimes feel a bit like a game of snakes and ladders. You aim to be successful, to lead your organisation up those ladders towards growth and profitability and success whilst avoiding all those potential pitfalls which can see your hard work come to naught. And let’s face it, those potential pitfalls […]
What do apprenticeships in 2018 look like?
Apprenticeships are having a bit of a moment. Gone are the days when being an apprentice meant leaving your home and living alongside your master mentor. Now they are a mix of practical skills, qualifications and work experience. Yet apprenticeships, in a form that we’d recognise today, have existed since the later Middle Ages when […]
Profiting from diversity
Let’s start right off by saying that yes, we know the title of this article can be read in two ways; and no, we are not suggesting that businesses and business leaders should revert to some kind of divide and conquer relationship. On the other hand, the drive to improve diversity levels across organisations is […]
How to Create an Employee Wellness Program
Businesses lose a lot when their employees are ill. The CDC Foundation found in 2015 that “productivity losses linked to absenteeism cost employers $225.8 billion annually in the United States, or $1,685 per employee.” And the real cost of sickness is certainly higher when you think about sick or stressed employees who do show up […]
Why Equality Matters
All too often, the news reports that fill our screens are tales where something bad has happened, so it is lovely when a genuinely heart warming tale goes viral that reminds us all of the capacity we all have to make a positive difference to others, especially when they really need it. One such tale […]
Unlock your business voice with these 4 key questions
In my work as a presentation and public speaking coach, I meet a lot of people, working across a huge range of roles and industries, and through them, I hear all sorts of anecdotes set in the workplace. This gives me some really interesting insights into the ways people behave at work and around their […]
What interviewing techniques do you use?
Interviews are an opportunity to get information. The funnelling technique is a communication process to help ensure: The right type of questions are asked Detailed responses are given Accurate notes of the responses are captured “Who questions much, shall learn much, and retain much” FRANCIS BACON Funnelling is a 3 stage process: Open Ask an […]
Better communication at work: how to stop waffling and get to the point
Whilst we might know exactly what we mean when trying to convey a message to others, there are many times when the true meaning simply gets lost in translation. It can be easy to assume that some people are just blessed with having “the gift of the gab” and that those who don’t have this […]
Practice Makes … Slightly Better than Eric?
Last week I wrote about Miss Wall, my childhood piano teacher. I came to be reminiscing about her because, after a long period of not playing the piano at all, I’d spontaneously bought a new book of music, when we were supposed to be buying floor tiles. (Trago Mills sells everything!) These days, playing the […]
Are you a Miss (or Mr) Wall to Learning?
I first started to learn to play the piano at the age of about 5, having shown an ‘inclination’ at a very young age. (I used to clamber on to the piano stool and bash at the keys, but hey, parents will cling to anything!) My first teacher had been my Dad’s. This was unfortunate, […]
Taking the pledge on gender diversity
In February 2018 the Chair of the Treasury select committee, Nicky Morgan, wrote to 33 financial services firms calling on them to sign the Women in Finance Charter*. Originally drawn up in 2016 the charter represents a joint commitment by HM Treasury and the financial sector to work together in order to deliver gender balance […]
Analysing resistance during a training session – what to do
As an anthropologist, I find the idea of resistance fascinating. When I used to teach, one of the books we focused on was Aihwa Ong’s Spirits of Resistance and Capitalist Discipline: Factory Women in Malaysia. In it, she explored the lives of young Malay women in the 1980s who began to work in factories. This […]
How HR can equip line managers to cope with conflict
Dealing with workplace conflict is the bane of many an HR manager’s working life. People accuse their manager of treating them unfairly. Power struggles emerge within teams. Colleagues fall out and refuse to co-operate with each other. Unfortunately, by the time the problem arrives at HR’s door, the conflict has often reached an advanced stage. Positions have become entrenched, […]
